Earlier this year, a surprise announcement was made that Sir Patrick Stewart would be reprising one of his most iconic roles in Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series. Stewart played Picard previously in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Writer Michael Chabon recently revealed the extent in which Stewart was involved with the writers’ room for the highly-anticipated new series:
“That project is ongoing now and the photo was us getting started with Patrick. He was in the room for two weeks. It was fantastic. That was sort of in the preliminary writers room that we had going before it expanded to the full room that it is now with a bunch of writers in there. I’m up in Berkeley and they are down in L.A.
But that time with Patrick as a resource and as a very willing and literate resource, I think its going to make the show. It’s going to take it to another level. Just to have him participating in the way he participated? Amazing. He understands drama and he understands character and can bring to bear on that all of his experience doing Shakespeare and Beckett and everything in between. Plus he’s incredibly sweet and funny and charming and surprisingly humble and modest. He’s a wonderful collaborator and I can’t say enough about the amazing and unexpected benefit of the process.”
In his time as a lead member of the franchise Stewart has appeared as the iconic Jean Luc-Picard in two show series and four feature length films since first taking on the role in 1987. He appeared as a guest star in the spin-off, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before appearing in the films. His character was last seen in the 2002 film, Star Trek: Nemesis. Sadly it was not the most gracious of sendoffs for the iconic character. The film was sadly a box office disappointment, only earning $67M on a $60M budget and received mostly negative review from critics. Perhaps the upcoming series will provide a more gracious exit for one of the best captains to grace the science fiction genre.
What do you all make of this news? Are you looking forward to Picard’s return to the franchise? Should they have left the character alone? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Source: Deadline
